The dwarf nods. "Let me get under cover after I check it for traps."
Hilde checks the secret door and deems it safe, and Henry opens it gingerly. It turns out to open into a short corridor which ends in another door that hangs stands ajar. You feel a slight chill in the air that seems to emanate from a larger chamber behind it - you seem to have found another way into the area behind the double doors.
Hilde sneaks towards the open door, listening intently. She'll stop before she gets within sight of anything through the door, though, and at that point if she hasn't heard any sounds she'll wave Henry and Tindertwig forward.
You hear nothing so Henry, Tindertwig and Dirtbag step into the room, followed by Hilde and Eddred. You find youselves in some kind of large chapel. The air here feels colder and damper than elsewhere in the ruins. Condensed beads on the walls run in rivulets across the countless skulls carved into the stone.
Just to your right a moldering human corpse lies slumped against the wall, his hands wedged into a crack as if he died trying to pry a brick loose. He must have tried to open the secret door that you emerged from when doom befell him.
Three short flights of steps lead upward to a wider chamber to the north, where a semicircular dais supports an altar of white stone. Beyond the altar loom four stained-glass windows, each twenty feet tall and depicting four haunting scenes of ghosts rising from overgrown graveyards toward
a four-pointed orange star above.
There is one visible exit: a pair of double doors to the south.
Tindertwig and Dirtbag look around the Sweaty Skull room. They both lick the water off the walls before shrugging and going to kick the smoldering corpse.
Bees un waiting room mees guess. Dis guy musta beens tires ov waiting.
"We should be wary of whatever killed this man," says Eddred. "Tread cautiously. Mistress Forgedottir, I believe this is your area of expertise?"
"This place gives me the creeps," Henry said with a shiver. He stayed vigilant even as Eddred asked Hilde to look around.
The dwarf nods and cautiously enters the room, looking around.
As you move towards the north in order to investigate the room properly, two mossy skeletons that lie slumped against the east wall in the northern alcove come into sight. But as you take notice of them, so do they, as they rise menacingly.
Roll for initiative. The skeletons start off prone and their initiative is 21, so if you beat that, you can act before they do.
Tindertwig and Dirtbag look over at the now moving skeletons.
Miss you by that much!
Hilde steps forward, drawing a dart and throwing it at the closest skeleton.
Hilde's dart connects and hits a joint but some unnatural force seems to hold these skeletons together and the effect is not quite as expected.
They rise and shamble over to you, an eerie blue glint shining in their eyesockets. One tries to gnaw at Tindertwig but he manages to elude it, but Hilde is not so lucky and takes 11 points of damage. She slumps to the ground, unconscious and dying.
The rest of you are up.
Henry's eyes go wide as he sees his friend go down. With an angry scream, he takes a step forward and aims his Morningstar at the glowing skeleton.
Despite his anger and wanting to swing at the skeleton again, he held back and raised his shield.
While Hilde's dart failed to make much of a dent in the skeletons, Henry's morningstar does so with a vengeance. You hear the splintering of ancient bones as you tear into the side of the unnatural creature.
Eddred hurls a flask of acid and follows it with firing his crossbow, but startled as he is by the appearance of the undead, neither shot is effective.
Tindertwig and Dirtbag both decide to Step into a Flank against the rude skeleton!
Tindertwig and Dirtbag both connect but don't seem to bother the skeleton unduly. It swings around and decides to destroy the pesky crocodile with a claw/claw/bite routine, but only its teeth get any purchase on the hard-skinned reptile. Dirtbag takes 10 points of damage.
The other skeleton does the same to Henry and manages to bite him for 10 points of damage.
You are all up.
Alarmed at the sudden change of the tide, Eddred grabs Hilde by the breasplate straps and pulls her towards the door as fast as he can go. If he has to, he will abandon his crossbow to get two hands on her and drag faster.
"Fall back! Fall back! We can come back later!"
Tindertwig takes a long look at his dogslicer. The goblin takes a practice swing. He shrugs.
Tink'n it may bees brokes. Come ons Dirtbag; let's gits da dwarf and leaves dis room!
The goblin takes a Stride just west of Hilde's still form.
Dirtbag then Stride to the other side of the dwarf. Tindertwig then does a nifty Goblin Scuttle a bit further.
They both then spit on their hands/claws to try to drag the dwarf out of harm's way.
Both the goblin and the crocodile look at each other.
Henry gave Eddred a quick glance as he started pulling Hilde towards safety. Trying to do his best to deter this creature from following Eddred, Henry swung at it one more time.
Clocking it a good one, Henry didn't let it go to his head. He started backing up with Eddred, raising his shield to ward off any blows coming their way.
Tindertwig and Dirtbag drag Hilde away while Eddred covers their retreat and Henry deals the skeleton a mighty blow to the side of its head, actually enough to make it crumble. As it falls a sickly blue light emerges from the fallen corpse and hovers over it for a second.
Eddred can modify his action since Tindertwig and Dirtbag grabbed Hilde and Hilde can try to stabilize.
The bad news is that Hilde drops to dying 3, while the good news is that with Eddred's help Tindertwig and Dirtbag manage to get her through the secret door and to safety.
The skeleton still standing doesn't seem to bother to pursue. It just stays on the dais and glares at you. The weird blue light on the other hand seems to pursue but then it passes by Henry, aiming for the dead body.
Henry seizes the opportunity and swats the creature with his morningstar, making it flicker and go out with a wet pop.
Assuming you have some means to heal Hilde, let's drop out of initiative. End of combat.
Tindertwig--and Dirtbag--look down with worry on each of their faces (yes; a crocodile can look a bit worried from time to time) at the still form of Hilde.
She bees justs lyings dere! Quicks Dirtbag; it bees up ta us!
The wise crocodile nods sagely.
Both goblin and crocodile then attempt to give the prone dwarf mouth to mouth!
The mouth to mouth does not seem to work very well, but somehow you manage to produce a minor Elixir of Life which brings Hilde back to consciousness, and she is able to stagger the short way back to Otari.
Wrin is appalled to see you in that condition but as always she is eager to hear your stories.
The dwarf is still pretty shaky, and privately baffled by the horrible taste in her mouth. "We found some paintings, and learned a little bit of the history of the place...maybe. Do you recognize the name 'Azrinae?'"
Tindertwig and Dirtbag seem to pout all the way back to town.
Wrin looks puzzled. "I can't say that I do, dear. Who would that be? But look at you, it is clear that you require some healing and some hot tea. And then you need to tell me all about your exploits."
Wrin casts Heal, healing you all 18 points.
Its bees da stupids Spookywisp faults!
Dirtbag smiles at Wrin after the healing.
"Spookywisp? But the stars promised that he wouldn't hurt you. What in the world did he do to you?"
Tindertwig and Dirtbag begins flapping their arms, stomping their feet, and making weird faces.
Da stupids named himself Spookywisp! Every ting bees goings down da hills after dat!
Dirtbag then kicks the goblin.
Oh, and he does wants sum shineys! Wees gots da dwarf done killed fer da stupids!
"That's just plain untrue," Henry said with a frown. "We fought with the skeleton floating wispy things after our fight with Mister Beak. We just got in two real togh fights in a row, thats's all."
"Well, you shouldn't mess about with those nasty skeletons, dears. I told you that bad things dwell in corners, didn't I? Now, do you want some rum in your tea?"
After some tea and swapping of stories and tending of what remains of your wounds Wrin says:
"I think you'd better end this once and for all. I think you need to smash that lamp or whatever it is that is sending out that light. But I think you'll need to go at night to find the source. But do be careful, dears. I feel that something really bad is building up there and I want you back in one piece.
Hilde pokes at herself where the skeletal claws tore at her, nodding in satisfaction. "Good job. Thanks for the healing, ma'am. We'll rest up and go back at night, then."
Tindertwig has some soup.
Nights bees betters fer s'plorings anyways.
"We were overwhelmed," agrees Eddred. "But not, so far as I could tell, at the behest of the entity known as Spookywisp."
He nods gratefully to Wrin for both the healing and the spiked tea. He could use it right now.
"You look better, Hilde. I was concerned."
I guess that Eddred will want to resupply his reagents and Henry will want to repair his shield, but apart from that, is there anything you want to do before you return to the fray? And will you take Wrin's advice and go at night?
Hilde sips her tea. "That was closer than I like, yes." She ponders plans for a moment. "I don't need to buy any supplies. Let's walk there while it's still light out, wait there, and then go in after the beacon lights."
You finish your modest preparations and set out again, somewhat refreshed. Leaving at dusk, you camp out near the old ruins, waiting for the eerie light to appear. As darkness slowly falls, the fens seem to come to life, as the croaking of frogs and rustle of bigger game increases. You spot a weird flickering light near the far end of the smaller building on the island. Possibly Spookywisp has returned.
When the light finally appears, it comes abruptly, the sickly blue beam appearing out of nowhere from the top of the lighthouse, bathing the environment in its light. You feel a slight chill in your bones that you can't really explain and even the frogs go silent for a moment.
Where do you want to go first?
The dwarf nods, and murmurs in a hushed voice, "This is it. The bronze trap door at the top of the stairs, then?"
Tindertwig and Dirtbag lead the way up to the bronze trap door at the top of the stairs.
You cross the rotten drawbridge and the courtyard without incident and all is quiet. But when you enter the lighthouse proper you get a nasty surprise.
The mysterious blood pool that you have passed harmlessly several times, starts to boil. Blood sputters and spurts upwards, forming an image of a woman consisting entirely of fresh blood. You recognize her features from the paintings in the corridor.
Before you can react, she starts to turn in place, like a lighthouse. And just like a lighthouse a sickly blue beam emanates from her eyes, striking you all.
As if that wasn't enough, then she turns her attention toward Tindertwig and opens her mouth as if making ready to drink his blood.
Now you are all up.
Henry looks slightly panicked. "What are we doing, guys?" He asks, wide eyed.